Prevention Is Primary

             Teacher In-Services

Prevention Is Primary offers a variety of workshops for teachers.  Each workshop is designed to increase the teacher’s use of prevention strategies in their schools and classrooms.  The presentation time can be modified to meet the time constraints of the audience, but allotting 3 hours will allow the Prevention Is Primary staff to effectively impart information and engage the participants in activities. 

       The Invisible Disability: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Effects

Three and a half percent of American women drink at levels that pose a risk for their unborn children to manifest fetal alcohol-related abnormalities .  Some of these children who were exposed to prenatal alcohol, may be impacting the environment of their classroom with difficult behavior.  This workshop will familiarize attending participants with the physical, mental, and emotional characteristics of children that are born with FAS and FAE.  It will provide them with strategies which may be employed in the classroom to meet the learning and behavioral needs of this population.

     Positively Focused: Nurturing Resiliency

Resiliency research shows that the link between the number of protective factors in a child’s environment and healthy development is stronger, than the link between the number of specific risk factors and negative outcomes in that child's development.  During the workshop participants will consider how the school environment contributes to the accumulation of protective factors that can keep children from harmful involvement with drugs.  Personal traits associated with children who overcome risks in their lives will be examined.  Participants will explore strategies for nurturing a child’s resilient nature in the schools and classrooms.

       Just the Facts: Alcohol and Other Drug Information

What are the symptoms of inhalant abuse?  What causes addiction to occur?  Which drugs are most prevalent in today’s schools?  During this workshop the participants will have an opportunity to explore these and many other questions concerning alcohol and other drugs.  The physiological, mental, and emotional aspects of drug use and addiction will be examined.  Knowledge of accurate, up-to-date information is critical in helping students make healthy choices when faced with difficult decisions about drugs.

        Not As I Do: Children of Addiction

The lives of 30 million children and adults in this country have been impacted by family alcohol addiction; many more by the abuse of other drugs.  The lack of trust, feelings of shame, and unhealthy coping and communication skills they develop are not left at home when they enter the classroom.  This workshop will familiarize the participants with the characteristics of an addiction-centered family, the survival roles children assume, and the strategies that can be utilized in schools to encourage quality learning and healthy behavior in school and society.

        Getting Kids Hooked: Teaching Prevention Through Literature

While encouraging life-long relationships between books and children, teachers can also use literature to teach prevention.  Children empathize with characters who experience joys, sorrows, and fears, similar to their own and gain perspectives on dealing with feelings.  The story characters become role models for problem solving and decision making.  Literature is the perfect vehicle for helping students understand issues regarding drug use.  During this workshop participants will explore the elements of prevention that appear in literature and use a sample of children’s literature to create a prevention lesson that can be shared with children in their classroom.

Opening The Door To A Promising Future: Building Protective Factors

Developing resiliency is now recognized as a vitally important requirement for the health and well being of everyone. Research has shown that the single most important protective factor for children may be having two or more significant adults in their lives, that care about them.  Support staff that have daily contact with students have the opportunity to build caring, encouraging, constructive relationships with them.  They can be one of the significant adults in children’s lives.  This workshop is designed for anyone who assists a teacher by interacting with students in a classroom setting (support staff, teacher’s assistants, personal aides, paraprofessionals).  Participants will learn what resiliency is, its classroom connection, and how they can reduce risk factors while promoting protective factors.